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Kirk Franklin, The Essential Kirk Franklin

2011 | Label: Verity Records/Legacy

05.02.12 Like our divided souls, the separation between church and state — for pop music, that would be gospel and secular — is often crossed. So it was when an unidentified "Male Quartette" held a "Camp Jubilee Meeting" on the aptly-titled Little Wonder Records in 1910 and used the words "rock n' rollin'" in their sermonizing; so it was when Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin ferried across the River Jordan and into the pop charts; and so it is today, when I am side stage at a gospel shout-out in Cleveland featuring Kirk Franklin, courtesy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's induction week.

He's not an imposing figure, but he packs a lot of dynamo into his deliverin'-the-word preacher's stance.… more »

Mary Mary, Something Big

2011 | Label: Columbia

07.28.11 "Walking," the transcendent hit that's the centerpiece of this gospel-crossover sister duo's sixth studio album, is a piano-house sampling, light-soul-harmonizing argument for taking your time. And it's not alone. "Something Big," a holy-roller stomp over a Bo Diddley beat, opens the album then makes way for bee-buzzing electro-hopper "Something Bigger"; "Walking" itself precedes the humanely chattered domestic montage "Slow Walk," then two more delectably nimble pop-soul numbers. The rest of the record owes almost as much to Destiny's Child as to Jesus Christ. more »

Willie Nelson, The Troublemaker

2004 | Label: Columbia/Legacy

05.15.11 Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios in 1973 in between the country-funk of Shotgun Willie and the more conceptual boot-scoot of Phases & Stages, but not released until after the success of Redheaded Stranger, The Troublemaker marks Willie's first foray into tackling a songbook, presaging efforts like To Lefty From Willie and Stardust. For this, he dusts off the old family hymnal for an album's worth of gospel. But don't think that Willie is gonna adhere to a certain perspective though, as the title track makes clear. Foregrounded is the jazzy interplay of his band rather than the solemn message of the Lord. Be it James Clayton Day's steel guitar licks on "Uncloudy Day," the quick shuffle of "There is a… more »

Ginny Owens, If You Want Me To: The Best Of Ginny Owens

2006 | Label: Rocketown Records / The Orchard

04.22.11 This collection of the sight-impaired singer-songwriter's greatest hits is a delightful introduction to her varied charms. I only hope that fans of CCM realize how lucky they are that she is singing songs of praise. One of the most clichéd things you can say about a Christian performer is that they'd be a huge star if only they "sold out" and made secular music. With an artist like Ginny Owens, however — an incredibly talented musician who works within the genre conventions of mainstream pop — it's hard to avoid such thoughts. On "Open Arms," for instance, imagine if she were singing "he waits for me with open arms" rather than "He waits for me with open arms." But she… more »